Frederick Douglass By Gwendolyn Brooks And Robert Hayden

Throughout history, people have been trying to change the world for the better, from political leaders, religious leaders, high ranking businessmen, and even the common man. Each have tried hard to make the world better for their kids and for the generation to come, not all have succeeded, but many have influenced the world for the better. All of those people that have accomplished that great task had to have gotten their idea, answer, or solution out to the communities and leaders. With this in mind, many people decided to write pieces of work to get their ideas out, and with that many authors and poets were born. Two that have heavily influenced the modern day are Gwendolyn Brooks and Robert Hayden, two African American poets. They both have made Americans think about life itself using interesting word pictures. Gwendolyn Brooks and Robert Hayden both have unique perspective in their poems “The Explorer” and “Frederick Douglass”, in Brooks poem she more focuses on there is no safe place to ever be found, in Hayden’s piece, the central theme is that there will be change in the future, with those differences there is a similarity, they both say
Hayden’s view on life is a little different to Brooks. His poem is more hopeful in the fact that he talks about the future, “Douglass, this former slave… visioning a world where none is lonely, none hunted, alien, this man, superb in love and logic, this man shall be remembered… with the lives grown out of his life, the lives fleshing his dream of the beautiful, needful thing”(1067). With this idea of it will change in the generations to come, he makes us hold on and persevere with life. He makes us truly think how things will be different, and if we are just patient enough, we can get through. He doesn’t want people giving up on life, he wants them to push on, and continue to fight for what's